Arthritis Statistics

The following statistics are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Arthritis Foundation:

Nearly 50 million people in the US have some form of arthritis or chronic joint symptoms.

One in 20 U.S. workers face limitations due to arthritis.

Rheumatic diseases are the leading cause of disability among persons age 65 and older.

Approximately 26.9 million adults in the United States have the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease. Most persons over the age of 65 are affected with osteoarthritis in at least one joint, making this condition a leading cause of disability in the U.S.

Rheumatoid arthritis, the most crippling form of arthritis, affects approximately 1.3 million Americans and two to three times more women than men. Further, the average onset for rheumatoid arthritis in women is between the ages of 30 and 60 years old.

Nine out of 10 people who have lupus are women, and lupus is three times more common in African-American women than Caucasian women.